My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - The Soul Complex

by Nasic the Amazon

Chapter 9: The Friends I Didn't Have

“Okay, so…” Austin begins telling Twilight as they both walk down the stairs from the second floor of the library “All your friends attend this school right? If that's the case we have a good chance of fixing everything before tomorrow night”

“Tomorrow night?!” she exclaimed in a panic before looking at Austin “Oh… That's perfect!”

As they prepare their things the sun brightens the library up. It was now morning and classes were about to start which means they have limited time to find their friends. Austin knew this too well, he was aware that helping Twilight would change the entire timeline but he knew that if played with the right cards he could fix everything he did up until then. It was a gamble but it paid off well, and he also needed Twilight’s help to get back home.

“Hey Austin, I just wanted to thank you for helping me… but I also wanted to ask WHY you are doing this” Twilight said.

Austin turns towards her and smiles softly.

“I’m doing this because I saw someone who needed help. I never stop helping people in need” he responds.

This leaves Twilight speechless. It was her first time being in this dimension and seeing how there are good people here made her even confident in her actions. She needed to not only save Equestria but also this world.

As they both leave the library through the now opened glass doors, students could be seen all around the halls.

Austin sees them looking at their phones which makes him remember what happened with Sunset the day before.

“This is the moment of truth,” he thought “Please show me I at least do some good from yesterday”

They continued to walk but unnoticed by Austin, Spike gained Twilight’s attention through her backpack.

“Spike, we can’t be seen talking to each other” she whispers at him.

“I know Twilight, but I wanted to know if you were sure to trust him… finding him looking at us sleeping isn't really the most unsuspicious interaction”

“That's true Spike but he did help us avoid the guard yesterday night-” before she could finish a few giggles could be heard around them.

Austin turned to look at the surrounding students which in turn were looking at Twilight trying not to laugh out loud.

“Crap,” he thought while still looking at them.

“Okay Twilight, don't worry about them we just have to-” he said before noticing that she had disappeared.

“Dammit, I even made sure to go through a different hallway. I gotta find Rarity” he thought while starting his search through some classrooms.

Twilight was pushed through some hallways and into an empty classroom. Her surprise quickly made her turn around only to find who brought her here. To her disbelief, it was Rarity, who was shutting the door with her back.

She had pure white skin, a stylish purple colored hair and from the looks of it chose pretty standard clothes, at least for her standards.

She was in a panic so as soon as Twilight acknowledged her presence she ran towards her bag to pick up a measuring tape.

“Rarity?” Twilight asked with surprise just as Spike opened the backpack to see.

She ignored her words and continued with her mission. As soon as she had the measuring tape she began to move around Twilight, measuring each part of her body.

“Oh Yes, this is Good!” she said while moving towards her bag and putting a greenish dress over Twilight. She seemed like a completely different student.

“That should do it!” she said with a smile while walking around Twilight and Spike “People won’t recognize you this way”

“Why wouldn’t I wanna be recognized?” Twilight asked while looking at the wigg Rarity put on her.

“And we’re gonna need a disguise for your dog too, which is too bad…” she says while leaning in towards Spike and rubbing his fur “He really is so adorable!”

Rarity steps back and shifts her weight from one leg to the next.

“With just a little work I might be able to make him look like a rabbit instead,” she says with a smile.

“A rabbit?” Twilight asks with confusion. But just as Rarity was getting ready to start her work, Applejack entered the room through the door.

“Oh, heya Twilight!” she says with a nervous smile.

“Wow… So much for the disguise” Rarity exclaims while crossing her arms.

“I’ve been looking all over for you” Applejack announces while walking inside the room.

“Me too…” Fluttershy says following Applejack's footsteps.

“Me three!” Pinkie Pie screams while joining the girls.

She walks towards Twilight and stares at her for a moment as if she were analyzing her. Twilight can do nothing but smile nervously. She knew they were her friends from another world, but she still wasn't familiarized with it to the point of feeling comfortable.

“I like your new outfit!” Pinki says with a smile.

“I do have an eye for these sort of things” Rarity says while turning towards her “Not that YOU seem to care”

Twilight turns towards her, shocked by that response.
She knew some of her friends were mad at each other, but for almost everyone to be this way was something she wasn't expecting. One thing was for sure in her mind, this just made Sunset Shimmer look more suspicious.

“Why do you think she doesn't care?” she asked in confusion.

Twilight continued to ask up until seeing Applejack and Fluttershy signaling her to stop with their hands.

“No, never mind” she continued “Why were you all looking for me? What's happening?”

All the girls' faces turned to one of nervousness.

“Oh no, she hasn't seen it yet,” Fluttershy said with a sad expression.

“Seen what?” Twilight asked as the girls set up a computer in one of the many empty desks of the classroom and showed her a video, a video made out of pure evil.

“It might not be that bad,” Pinki said with a nervous smile while starting the video.

As the girls see it Austin was still trying to find Twilight throughout the hallways of CHS, but his search was coming back empty.

“Damn,” he thought while looking at the many students around him “Come on Austin! Remember… The room shown in the movie had windows which lead to the outside, this means that it has to be one of the classrooms from the outer sector of the school perimeter”

His gaze moves from one hallway to the next.

“There were two doors (Where Twilight entered and where the other girls did), which means it's a classroom between two separated hallways. That limits the search to only 4 sections of the school…”

As his thoughts were racing, so were his feet. He walked as fast as he could towards the classroom he thought Twilight was in.

“From the proximity of where Rarity grabbed her, it's likely she could be on the second floor,” he thought while getting closer.

He finally saw the classroom and opened its door but no one was there. It was the same exact room he remembers from the movie, and with the buildup of evidence suggesting he has a photographic memory it shows how different this timeline was compared to the original one.

“Crap! If they’re not here that means that I won't be able to determine ANYTHING with certainty anymore… only guesses. Maybe I should have gone the same hallway Twilight took after leaving the library… Wait!” he thought as an idea came to mind.

He begins running closer to the library only to find someone waiting for him after turning left in a hallway intersection.

He was not expecting to see her so soon after all of what happened before, but it appears SHE was looking for him.

Sunset Shimmer was right in front of him, and she was... not mad?

Austin stopped moving after seeing her. He didn't know what to do in a situation like this, but if he wanted to try and fix the timeline it should start with her.

Starting the conversation would be difficult so he decided to think first. How can he approach the situation? Maybe go in with a forceful personality? Be friendly? Everything was a gamble and for some reason, he thought it was only just the beginning of a long road.

As the two students stared at each other the people around them decided to leave while they still could. This feeling of retreat got amplified as a smirk could be seen on Sunset’s face. They knew better than to cross her when she had that smile.

“Jake Walker…” she began to say while slowly approaching the boy “You seem to be pretty far away from home, especially for an Equestria City boy”

This caught him completely off guard. She did her research, and that means that his identity could be compromised if he didn't play with the right cards. Playing nice didn't work before, so maybe playing forcefully might get the job done.

“Sorry Jake, gonna have to mimic your personality to the best of my ability,” Austin thought while preparing himself for a serious talk.

“You did your homework” he responded with dry words.

“Oh, I did more than that Jake. After the talk, we had yesterday you made me realize something… those words you said... I didn't know Celestia was sending spies to this world” Sunset continued while walking around him “I didn't seem to think she could be capable of such a thing but look at us now… I underestimated her”

“You seem to have a misconception. I'm not a spy for anyone” he said, continuing his act.

“And YOU seem to know way too much about me… and not just things from this world… my place of origin, Equestria, Celestia, and the video Snips and Snails gave me…”

Austin stared at her with intense eyes.

“Why did you release that video Sunset? You know that's playing dirty”

“Playing Dirty? I’m sorry Jake but WE are at war. I thought that being a puppet for Celestia would have taught you something… how disappointing”

“You won't get away with this… I know what you want, and we WILL stop you” he said with a smile.

This made Sunset back off for just a moment.

“Ha! You? Don't make me laugh. I told Twilight the same thing I'm gonna tell you: YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME HERE. You know nothing about this world! Look at your Princess of Friendship! She doesn't even know how to make her own shoes off!”

Austin slowly walks towards her, his head now being a few centimeters from hers.

“Don't test me, Shimmer” he said with a serious tone.

She didn't move, didn't even flinch. Austin saw this and was surprised. She was completely different from before as if her personality changed overnight. She seemed less… human.

“Oh wow! What are you gonna do, tough guy? Are you gonna rig the event so that Twilight wins? Are you gonna kidnap me and lock me in a room until the event is over? Oh, please!” Sunset remarked while laughing.

Austin backed off after all those questions. He didn't really know how to handle this anymore. She was too different, even while comparing to her movie counterpart.

“I need you to answer a simple question Jake, it shouldn't be that complex to a genius like you, right? What school are you from again?” she asked while winking with her right eye.

Her face was angled up which showed a position of superiority that even Austin could acknowledge as intimidating, but he didn't let that get to him and maintained silence. He's gonna let his stare do the talking this time.

Sunset thought it was cute, but continued speaking.

“It would be really easy to tell this world’s Celestia that Crystal Prep has sent a person to spy on us in bad faith for the Friendship Games, making countless students from CHS feel… uncomfortable” she finished with a smirk.

Hearing her say that hurt him... especially after getting accustomed to Sunset’s kind self in the later movies of the franchise. But he knew something she didn't. She has always been fighting HERSELF, questioning whether she was doing the right thing. This could help him.

“You’re bluffing Sunset. I know you have kindness in your heart, I've seen it before. You cried last night, remember? After I asked you to stop this nonsense”

“On the contrary, you made me realize how WEAK I was. Back when I still held those feelings towards Celestia… you made me understand how I needed to throw them away so that I could actually achieve my full potential… and I thank you for that” she said while looking at the floor.

Austin looked confused by that remark. What was she saying?

“That’s why I'm here. I'll give you one chance Jake, one last chance to leave before I destroy you and that Twilight Sparkle” she said while glaring at him seriously “I'll even consider giving you a job at my empire”

He didn't know what to say, this crushed any hope he had about going home soon. Fixing all of this might take a long time.

“That's not happening,” he finally responded.

She couldn't help but make a face of disappointment after hearing that, but quickly shrugged it off while walking past him.

“It's a shame really. I would have wanted to see you become my slave willingly, but I guess I'm gonna have to force you. It would've been more fun that way” she said with a frown.

“Sunset!” Austin exclaimed, breaking his character as panic began to gain control.

She tilts her head towards him but says nothing.

“Did those tears make you feel anything at all?!” he asked, demanding an answer.

She waited a few seconds as if she were deciding how to respond.

“Those tears were filled with a misplaced feeling that Celestia took away when she didn't allow me to fulfill my destiny”

“STOP PLAYING THE VICTIM SUNSET! You could have avoided all of this if you just had patience and gave friendship a chance!” Austin exclaimed.

The tension in the air could now be physically felt. Thick enough to be cut with a knife.

Suddenly Sunset’s eyes showed something… something horrid… a stare that even made Austin fear.

“You will regret saying that Jake Walker,” she said before slowly walking away from him.

But as she walked away Austin just stayed there without the ability to speak.

“Holy Shit!” he thought while his breathing returned back to normal.

The feeling of fear transformed into a feeling of anger as he realized the truth of the situation.

“This is all my fault!... If I just had not gotten in her way everything would not be this complicated!” he thought while squeezing his fists “I need to fix all of this! But first…”

Austin continues searching every single classroom at a rapid pace with the hope of finding Twilight. It might take some time but he will at least eventually find her.

As he continues his search, in an unknown classroom Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight finish viewing the video Sunset uploaded to the internet.

“AH!? But….. I…..” Twilight murmured as the video finished

“Never mind… It is pretty bad” Pinki said with a worried face.

“But this all happened yesterday… at the library…. has everyone seen it? Is that why they were laughing at us?” Twilight continues while covering her face with her hands.

“Mmmhmmm” all the girls try to answer.

“Awwww… No one’s gonna vote for me after seeing this! What am I gonna do?…” she asked while crouching on the chair.

But at that moment she remembers Austin. Her head moves from left to right seeing if he's anywhere in sight but finds nothing.

“Not that it will make any difference, but I'll still vote for you,” Fluttershy said while trying to comfort her “You were so nice to stand up for me when Sunset was picking on me yesterday”

“If you still wanna run, maybe there is something I can do to help,” Pinki said while walking closer to her.

Just as Pinki finished talking, Fluttershy got closer towards Twilight with an angry expression.

“A word of advice, don't accept HER help. She doesn't take anything seriously” she said.

“WHA!? Why do you have to be so awful to me?” Pinki protested.

“Pfff, don't act so innocent Pinkie Pie, you are just as guilty as SHE is,” Rarity said while pointing at Fluttershy.

“And what is that supposed to mean?!” Pinkie responds with an angry expression.

“I am happy to provide my assistance as well…. TO SOMEONE WHO WOULD APPRECIATE WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER!” Rarity responded while getting closer to Pinkie’s face.

Just as she finished speaking the three of them began to argue with one another even more. It was starting to get so out of control that even Spike went back to Twilight’s backpack and sealed himself in. But before it could escalate even more, Applejack stepped in.

“Listen to ya'll! Stop fighting! Get over it and move on” she exclaimed while finishing to eat an apple.

“You mean like how YOU’VE moved on from what happened with Rainbow Dash?” Rarity responded while she sat on one of the many empty desks.

“That's different! Rainbow promised me she would bring the softball team to make an appearance in my Bake Sale” Applejack said while walking towards Twilight “I tell everyone they are coming and then not one of them shows up! She made me seem like a liar!”

“It is not different!” Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity responded at the same time.

“It's too!” The apple gal exclaimed.

They all began arguing with each other again, this time Applejack joining them. It was starting to get more intense that even Twilight began to panic. She just didn’t know how to approach the situation.

This continued for a few seconds until she had enough and prepared to stop them. But before she could do anything the door of the room opened as a boy entered the scene.

“STOP!” Austin exclaimed as he gained the attention of them all.

Twilight turned towards him and smiled. She was relieved that there was someone else who could help with this.

Applejack turned towards him with surprise. She had never seen him before on school grounds. But who had the most surprise was Pinkie Pie. She was usually so informed about every student, but she didn't know anything about the boy in front of her.

“Okay Austin… remember Twilight’s words, remember exactly what she said in the movie,” he thought while getting to talk, but before anything could happen Rarity.

“And who might YOU be?” she asked, a little impatient.

“He's a friend of mine!” Twilight responded with a nervous smile “He is someone who can help you all”

“Help us do what?” Applejack asked defensively “We are perfectly fine right now. I don't need any help being friends with people who betray me like this”

Austin walked closer towards Twilight as he signals her to take out the yearbook in her backpack. She sees the signal and immediately grabs her bag.

“Look, I know you have gone through some situations that lead to all of you not trusting each other but have you forgotten the memories you've all made before?” He said.

As Austin finishes, Twilight opens the yearbook and lands on a page which shows a picture of them together when they were younger.

“You were friends once,” Twilight exclaimed.

All the girls gathered up behind her watching the picture with pure nostalgia in their eyes. While they look at it, Austin walks and sits on a desk in front of all of them.

“Freshman fair…” Applejack noted, “Do y'all remember?”

“Yeah…” all of them said with a soft voice as if they were remembering how they met for the first time.

“Something happened between all of you and we think that something was Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight said while also looking at the picture.

All the girls turned to look at her at the same time. It seemed as if they were wondering why he would say that name.

“Well, it's a nice theory darling but… sunset shimmer had nothing to do with it,” Rarity said.

“She is right, Sunset Shimmer wasn't the one to set up a fireworks show in the Animal Shelter Anniversary Auction. It was supposed to be a serious event but Pinkie ruined it” Fluttershy tuned in.

“What are you talking about?! I got a message from you saying you didn't want a silent Auction. You said you wanted a big Party!” Pinkie responded while taking out her phone and showing her evidence.

“What? I never sent you a text message…” Fluttershy said with confusion as Pinkie looked at her phone again.

“You don't think she is the one who's been sending me those emails, do you?” Rarity asked with an analytical face “Every time I volunteer to help with the decorations of School Function I get an email from Pinkie Pie saying she has plenty of volunteers only to discover that she’s been doing everything herself!”

“Well, I never sent you any emails…” Pinkie responds with a worried tone.

“And maybe she is the reason Rainbow didn't show up to the Bake Sale…” Applejack joined.

“Didn't you ever ask Rainbow Dash why she never showed up?” Austin questioned with a sincere voice.

Applejack looked at him with sadness and prepared her response.

“Well… I guess I kind of stopped talking to her at all after that…” she said with a guilty tone.

Austin got off the desk and slowly walked towards her. He knew she needed a little bit of reassurance so he tried to make her feel more sure of herself.

“Maybe now’s a good time to start” he responded while patting her on the shoulder.

“You're right…” she said with a soft smile.

Twilight looked at him with surprise and admiration after what he did. Now she felt even more assured of herself.

“We can do this!” she thought.

Rarity and Fluttershy looked at Pinkie with a sad expression. With the information at hand, they realized the mistake they made. A mistake that blamed Pinkie for actions she didn't do.

“I’m… I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. All this time I thought you were… I thought you were denying my requests to help because maybe I wasn't at your level. I thought you considered me inferior…”

Pinkie and Austin were surprised to hear her say that. He knew Rarity felt sorry, but it was never addressed in the movie.

“Of course not! I would never do that… we're friends after all” she responded with a smile that seemed to make Rarity feel better.

“I'm also sorry… I would have never blamed you if I knew you didn't do it on purpose… I am really, really sorry” Fluttershy whimpered as if she were about to cry.

“Come on Fluttershy… we were all affected by this! You know I will always forgive you guys” Pinkie said while hugging them as hard as she could, nearly lifting them up from the ground.

Everyone seemed to feel better by the fact that things were resolved and they seemed to be friends, especially Twilight now that things were starting to look positive.

“Now then, let’s go help you regain your best friend Applejack,” Austin said.

Comments

[Nasic the Amazon]

Hello everyone, I know my story isn't very "Well Written" and I'm sorry. I'm Mexican, so writing in English is kind of a struggle for me. A lot of you have told me you like my story though, so I'm gonna publish everything I have written so far and see how people react to it.
If it's liked, I'll continue with it (I have about 100 or so chapters worth of content to finish the whole story).
Some people said some stuff to me in private that hurt my feelings but that's how criticism goes.

Hope you all enjoy the story!

[HB_DS2013]

I like your fic so far. In fact, the best stories I've encountered so far are written by ESL writers. I've noticed ESL writers double-check on their English grammar and the quality improves as a result compared to native English writers who don't have to worry as much about their words.

[lainverse]

Well, I personally like that Austin didn't went with overused and incredibly annoying trope of "I absolutely must not alter the timeline" and hide under the rock only to find out he already is in an altered timeline. Even though he doubts his actions and attempts to put back on tracks what he already altered.